Hearst Castle & Pebble Beach, California

Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle Pool

Big Sur Scenic Route

Big Sur Looking South Elephant Seals on Beach
Pebble Beach 18th Hole

Today we awoke to a perfect spring day. Friends Marie & Eric from Sacramento strongly suggested that we shouldn't miss a visit to Hearst Castle, the 56 bedroom mansion that William Randolph Hearst (newspaper magnate) built in the 1920's. It is located on 250,000 acres on a hilside in San Simeon overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The town of Cambria where we stayed last night was only 10 minutes down the road, so we pulled into the property and jumped on the tour bus. After Hearst's death, the family donated the estate and most of it's furniture and fittings to the State of California, and it was subsequently opened up to the public. What a fabulous 1.45 hours we had taking a tour of the property. It is hard to believe the wealth of furnishings and historical artifacts that are maintained within the buildings. The gardens were magnificent; even the orange trees were laden with golden orbs.

We left Hearst Castle after a bite to eat for lunch, then drove north on Highway 1 along the Big Sur. That is the name given to the 90 miles (145 km) of road along the Pacific Ocean north of San Simeon and up to Carmel (south of Monterey). The road snakes along the cliffs of the Santa Lucia mountains and each turn exposes a magnificent view of the ocean. On one beach we saw ugly elephant seals sunning themselves.

En route we passed through the picturesque city of Carmel-by-the-Sea where Clint Eastwood was Governor from 1986-1988. He still has a property there including a restaurant, on the south side of Carmel. A drive in this area wouldn't be complete without completing the 17 mile scenic drive through Pebble Beach, also on the Pacific Ocean. It is also the home of several renowned golf courses. We called into Pebble Beach Golf Club where the 2010 PGA is to be held. The view from the Lodge over the 18th hole to the ocean was spectacular. Our last task of the day was to find somewhere to have an early dinner before checking into our hotel. Surprise, surprise, we ended up at the Monterey Harbour where we found a delightful restaurant on the docks, and from our table we could look out the window and see the Cannery Row of John Steinbeck's novel. More on that tomorrow...